Dartmouth man denied bail in 'sleep-watching' case

Barry Edward Sinclair is led in to Halifax provincial court on Monday. Sinclair was in court for a bail hearing on voyeurism and break-and-enter charges. (ERIC WYNNE / Staff)

UPDATED 5:52 a.m. Tuesday

A Dartmouth man accused of breaking into homes in south-end Halifax and watching women sleep has been denied bail.

Barry Edward Sinclair, 50, is charged with two counts of break and enter and five of voyeurism, involving watching three other women through windows.

Sinclair hid his face and dark greying hair from media cameras as he was led to and from Halifax provincial court Monday. His bail hearing, which took all morning and part of the afternoon, ended with Judge Michael Sherar granting the Crown’s request to keep him behind bars.

All evidence presented during the hearing is banned from publication.

Sinclair has been in custody since his arrest last Sept. 15. Halifax Regional Police picked him up after break-ins on Shirley and South streets.

The three other offences were allegedly committed in Halifax between August 2005 and June 2011. They are related to photographs of women police allegedly found in Sinclair’s residence when they searched it last September.

Four of the photos were released to the media in an attempt to identify the women in them. Three women came forward and told police they didn’t know they were being photographed through a window while they were in their apartments. The fourth woman has never been identified. After Sinclair was denied bail, he chose to be tried in Nova Scotia Supreme Court by judge alone, and he waived his right to a preliminary inquiry.

He’ll be in Supreme Court on May 24 when dates will be set for his trial.